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Monday, July 13, 2009

Little Man's Skillet

I'm a baker, but I'm also a full time mother. We eat real food. Part of being a good mother is giving children practical skills. The last couple of weeks during summer vacation I've been working at teaching Little Man to cook(Kids cooking). I don't mean just following a recipe, I mean really listening to his instincts and cooking from his heart. I want him to be able to look at raw ingredients and make a meal. Last night I was not disappointed. This is Little Man's Skillet Dinner. It had lean meat, lots of vegetables, fiber, carbohydrates, and amazing flavor. My husband Ace ate 3 plates full. I asked him to write down his recipe as he went, and this is what he came up with. Note that it won't be as good without 1 billion pounds of love:

Saute :

1 medium onion, minced

1 yellow bell pepper, minced

1 cup carrots, minced (he forgot to write that part down)

1 lb lean Italian Turkey sausage

4 cloves of pressed garlic

After vegetables are tender and meat is browned, add 1 can (15 0z) Italian stewed tomatoes and simmer on low 15 minutes. While sauce simmered, he cooked the pasta. Now at this point I could have easily taken the flavorful ingredients off the burner and sucked them down. They tasted awesome. Or...cooled them a little and put them in a one quart freezer bag. I call it a "pasta toss" when all the ingredients for a skillet meal are in a freezer bag. Once frozen they will just need to be defrosted, heated, and added to a pound of cooked pasta. It saves space in my freezer if I do it that way. I have one of those small above fridge freezers so I try to maximize my space whenever possible.

Oh, and much to my joy, Little Man wanted some green stuff. We are making huge progress don't you think?

Quick and easy main course that can also double as a freezer meal...all from the mind of my Little Man. Gracious heart! Life is good.